Thirsty Topics podcast
If it is trending, Lawrence Elrod and Wander P. are already talking about it. But Thirsty Topics is not just a headlines show.
Each episode bounces through pop culture, social media buzz, celebrity news, and the week's wildest stories while asking the question underneath all of it: what does this actually mean for people? From reality TV fallout and AI in music to consumer scams, public accountability, and the occasional candy heist, Lawrence and Wander bring honest opinions, real debate, and the kind of perspective that makes you think twice about what you just scrolled past.
Thirsty Topics podcast
Remembering Dolly Parton: Her Legacy, Life & Lessons
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A legend’s passing can stop you in your tracks, even if you never had the chance to meet them. This week on Thirsty Topics, hosts Lawrence Elrod and Wanda P reflect on the life and legacy of Dolly Parton and why she meant so much to generations of people around the world.
We remember the unmistakable voice, the movies, the humor, the humility, and the rare kind of fame that never seemed to require tearing somebody else down. We also look at Dolly’s extraordinary philanthropy, including the Imagination Library, and why putting books into the hands of children may be one of the most meaningful parts of a legacy that will live far beyond the headlines.
Then things take a seriously strange turn.
Video of people reportedly climbing out of New York City manholes near Penn Station around 4 AM has people asking questions. Who were they? What were they doing underground? And why does something that might have an innocent explanation immediately trigger fears, theories, and suspicion? We talk public safety, city surveillance, underground infrastructure, raw sewage—and the common sense question everybody watching the footage is probably asking: Why were they down there in the first place?
From there, we get into one of the most personal debates of the episode: adult children cutting off contact with their parents and the growing conversation about whether therapy culture is being blamed for breaking up families.
We talk honestly about trauma, abuse, boundaries, accountability, caregiving, and what happens when pain gets passed from one generation to the next. Is going “no contact” sometimes necessary for survival, or are families giving up on relationships too quickly? This conversation gets personal.
We wrap things up with our reactions to reports surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and a possible return to the UK, plus the changing world of college football, where NCAA lawsuits, NIL money, eligibility rules, and potential fifth-year opportunities are creating some very interesting questions about who should be allowed back on the field—and who gets paid.
Thirsty Topics is where pop culture, viral stories, social issues, entertainment, and real-life conversations collide—with opinions you may agree with, disagree with, or want to argue about.
🎙️ Hosted by Lawrence Elrod and Wanda P.
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Hello, and thank you for listening to Thirsty Topics podcast! I'm Lawrence Elrod, and every week Meryl Klemow and I dive deep into the stories that matter, the conversations that shape our world."
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Welcome And Quick Check-In
SPEAKER_01Hello, everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Thirsty Topics. Hey, Wonder.
SPEAKER_00Hey Lawrence, how are you? My brother.
SPEAKER_01I am doing fantastic today. How about you?
SPEAKER_00I'm doing great. Uh, it was my day off. Uh, had some doctor's visits and stuff like that, but you know, took the time. I'm just chilling, chilling, chilling. Great day.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, definitely. I feel the same way.
SPEAKER_00I look at it like it's getting darker out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's getting darker a little early, but you know what? I'm not gonna complain yet.
SPEAKER_00So I like it when it gets dark, actually, but go ahead. I'm sorry, I didn't even mess you up.
SPEAKER_01Oh, wow.
Remembering Dolly Parton’s Legacy
SPEAKER_01Well, I want to start off um by giving our condolences uh to the friends and family of a music legend, uh, Dolly Parton. Uh, she passed away this week. Uh Dolly Parton passed away at the age of 80 on Tuesday, August 25th, following a brief battle with cancer. Now, Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in Pittman Center, Tennessee. Over a legendary career spanning decades, she became a global icon, known for timeless country and pop hits like Jolene, I Will Always Love You, and Nine the Five. Beyond her music and acting career, she was a dedicated philanthropist philanthropist, famously founding the Imagination Library to gift books to children worldwide. Well, Wonder, what do you think?
SPEAKER_00You know, Sunday, I saw an interview with Dolly Parton. She was talking about uh in this interview how she was taking care of her husband because he was sick and just was kind of neglecting herself. And I made a comment, I said, wow, she doesn't look good. Oh my god. You know, and Monday or Tuesday, wow. So seeing that that that uh that interview, and you know what stands out to me about Dolly Parton is that she never forgot where she came from. When I was hearing the stories of uh was 12 of them, and she came from nothing, from rags to riches, man. And that's what stands, and she she never ever that I saw even on uh on television, she was always humble. And and and that's rare when you find somebody that they because some people forget where they came from, yes, and it's just so ironic to see that she did not forget where she came from. So that really stands out to me about uh one of the many, many attributes of Dolly Parton.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I agree. One of the things I liked about her was she was always sweet, she was always humble. Um, she never got into any political or social type stuff. She was pretty much type of a person that everyone could relate to, everyone liked. Um, the one thing that I liked about her was uh besides being a great musician, she was also a great actor, too. A lot of people don't know that.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01You know, the song Nine to Five was based off of the movie she was in, nine to five, which I actually liked.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. One of the one of the guys I take care of, when we saw her, we were coming in Tuesday, and I said, Oh my god, Dolly Parton uh passed away like that. Oh my god. So they started showing the picture, and he goes, She sure was gorgeous. She was a pretty woman, she was gorgeous inside and out. And when you find people that, like you said, she was a great actress, and and uh, and I think they are talking about that too. It's it's it's just nice to find every now and then you find a person that touches every every ethnic every ethnicity. Uh color has nothing to do with it. When they start showing the different people that she sang with, I was so uh uh happy to see her and Patty Labelle back in the day. Uh uh uh Whitney Houston. She is just so many. I mean, I I I just don't even want to forget the names, but she was just a very, very humble person. I think I want to say it was a rapper. It was a rapper I saw her in a picture with. You know, just everybody's posting. And being from Nashville, a lot of the the news people uh that I know, I saw a lot of them, you know, post up in Nashville. So, yeah, so and and and living in Nashville and still consider myself a Nashville, uh, even though I'm back in uh in Chicago, uh, that was my home for 24 years. So I remember her making a comment when she first heard Whitney Houston sing I'll Always Love You. She said, I pulled over to the Walgreens in Brentwood. I said, I know what that is. My son worked at Old Charlie's right across the street from there. So when she was given the name, I can just reminisce it. It just feels so good. Not that I'm name-drop or anything, but it's just something I can associate when she was talking about that and how that song, she just never heard it saying that way. And you know, when you can sing somebody else's song and take it to the next level, that's saying something.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. You know, and the the one thing that I love about her too is with the the um the foundation as far as when she's giving the books away to children all over the country.
SPEAKER_00I was gonna hit on that.
SPEAKER_01You know, a lot of people didn't know she was doing that. What I'd like is she does a lot of stuff behind the scenes, but she's not the type of person that puts everything out there and say, hey, look at me, look what I did. To me, it's genuine when you're that way.
SPEAKER_00She was humble.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00She was uh she was a very humble person, and I don't think I've heard anyone, I've never heard anyone say anything negative about her. And she was even so humble when they when she was uh gonna be inducted in the um the country hall of not the country hall of fame, but the rock and roll hall of fame, and she turned it down, and eventually she uh was inducted. But just you know, the humility, and that says a lot for somebody that was oh my god, from Rex, would you think about Dollywood? You know, all in that area, she has left a legacy, and and and the Bible tells us, man, leave an heritage for your children's children. So she's she's left a heritage for so many people that she would never ever be forgotten. And I love that because I am a person, I believe in the books, believe in reading, and so that that was another point that you just brought up that uh that was really, really awesome what she did with that library, you know, and the books and everything.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, a lot of people just found out recently that she was married for so many years because you never saw a husband, and then to find out they've been married 60 years before he passed away in Hollywood. That's 100% unheard of. So to be able to do that is a blessing. I I I think I tip my hat off to him. That was a blessing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was, you know, and then when you just think about someone like her, man, you think about a legacy man just 80 years, she lived a full life, and and and just getting on that situation with the cancer. I know a lot of people, I don't know, I've had made the comment about her taking care of everybody, and she said that too, of her her husband, and then she wasn't thinking about her own health. But I know that situation with cancer, man. She was a beautiful woman inside and out. I it to each his own when it comes down to how you want to treat that uh particular thing, because I feel a certain way because of my husband and my sister and my grandmother uh and my daughter passed away with cancer and what they had to go through just with that treatment. And I know there's a chance you can live, but also there's a chance that you won't have the quality of life. You just won't have the quality of life. So um, I had a cousin, man. She was a fireman, man. Oh my god. And she, hey, hey, hey, I'm gonna live my life, and that's what she did. And Dolly, 80 years old, that's a she she lived a good life, she lived a fruitful life, a fulfilling life. It helps so many people.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, and it's genuine.
SPEAKER_00You could hear all the posts that wasn't put up, they were all genuine.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's amazing how many people that she touched. Um, I know that uh Jelly Roll is filling in for Jimmy Kimmel right now because Jimmy Kimmel's, you know, for summer vacation, and he was saying, you know, the wonderful things that that Dolly had said to him, you know, in his career, you know, that kind of gave him inspiration and stuff like that. And I could just go on and on about the many people that she's really helped and inspired over the years. And um, like I said, um, she's a great woman. Um, she's definitely gonna be missed by everyone. And I'm definitely praying and giving my condolences to the family.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was definitely a shocker. Like I said, especially after seeing that interview on Sunday. So it was it was certainly a shocker. Uh again, man, the world is gonna always remember because they were over in London uh doing uh nine to five. You know, you think about that movie that that's a classic song, nine to five, you know. So yeah, yeah. So I just really my heart, I felt something. I didn't know her like that, you know. I lived in Ashville, I just didn't know her like that, but I followed her just from a little child, the movies and different things like that. So I followed her, and like you say, she she lived a very fruitful and fulfilling life. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well,
New York Manholes And Midnight Questions
SPEAKER_01I think you have a great uh topic that's coming up about New York.
SPEAKER_00Wow, you know, this is this is really weird. People coming out of manholes in New York. Now, this story stands uh sounds almost unbelievable, but it actually happened. Video showed several people climbing out of a manhole near Penn Station in Manhattan around four o'clock in the morning. Put a pen in that one. Police said investigators believe some of the individuals were migrants searching underground for valuable things. Now, Lawrence, I got some swat land in Louisiana. You want to buy it? If anybody but when you when I first saw that last Sunday, right before the dowry, when I saw that, it was an eerie, eerie feeling to see people coming up out of a manhole with headlights. Come on, in New York, rats, it's stinky down there, and they're looking for jewelry, expensive stuff. And guess what? I was taking my guy to one of his boxing classes, right? So I was talking to the instructor, telling her about she said, Oh my gosh, she said, I didn't see that, but she was telling me in another country they were doing that. So is that the same story?
SPEAKER_01Wow.
SPEAKER_00She said it happened in another in another country, and she told me the name of the country. I'm going like, what? So that sounds very suspicious and sneaky to find people in Manhattan of all places lurking around underground in a sewage. Come on, what do you, you know, all kinds of talk has been going around. What what's really going on down there? Are they tampering with our water? Uh is it a is it a uh uh what you call they do the the caseing to see what is it?
SPEAKER_01It makes you wonder. I mean, the other thing too is it's raw sewage in there. So yeah. And uh we all know what raw sewage is. So that's disgusting in itself. Now, I know New York, depending on where you're at, there are certain there are certain areas where there is like like they call it an underground city in certain areas. Um because I have they flood them out.
SPEAKER_00She said they flood them out.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay, okay.
SPEAKER_00That's what the young lady told me. She said they flood them out.
SPEAKER_01So, I mean, I don't know what it is. I mean, to to look for valuable stuff down there, I don't know, maybe in a sewage.
SPEAKER_00What is valuable down there in the sewage but the copper pipes?
SPEAKER_01But I think the the other thing, and I think you touched on a great point, is in this time right now with the world going crazy, I'm very shocked that law enforcement isn't talking to these people to find out why they're down there and what they're really doing.
SPEAKER_00And the thing about it, four o'clock in the morning. Yeah, four o'clock in the morning, no, but cops and robbers out. Cops and robbers are out at four o'clock in the morning. So you're down there claiming that you're looking for valuables, and I heard one like jewelry. Who in the world is gonna flush their that just doesn't make sense. And as you were saying, and I don't want to get too deep with the conspiracy, but man, it's just too much going on. And then to hear that this goes on in other places, and the thing about it, they caught three separate manholes with this happening. One guy almost got run over by a car, they had the cameras, he almost got hit by a car. That was another sewage where somebody was coming out. What are they casing? What are you looking for?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's it's interesting. I mean, it's very weird when you think about it. And when they come out the manholes, they actually have running and they have like a light on, you know, like they're they're looking around and they're getting that real, real quick.
SPEAKER_00Yes, hoping nobody sees them. But what folk don't understand, everybody got a camera and everybody got a gun. So I don't care where you go, big brother, somebody is watching you. So don't pick in your nose.
SPEAKER_01That's true.
SPEAKER_00Don't don't don't pull up, don't pull a wedgie out, you know, because somebody's always looking and got a camera somewhere. But that's that's really, really strange. Really strange. People are wondering, what in the world are these people coming out? And they, oh my god, that that's real spooky. So I'm hoping nothing nefarious is going on.
SPEAKER_01And you know, the other thing too is, you know, if you figure if you're you know getting home late at night and you see someone hop out of a mantle, it's probably gonna scare the daylights out of you like, what the hell is going on here?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. And I'm I'm like, my thing is I've never seen them, maybe in a movie, but I understand New York got some big old rats.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00They got some big old rats that live down up in there. So, you know, they're not afraid of something. I don't know what's up, I don't know what's up, but it's so sneaky and suspect. It's very suspect what's happening.
SPEAKER_01It's true. It kind of makes you wonder if there's um a larger, a larger thing going on because those are just the people we saw coming out. That may not be all who's down there or who went down there. So it makes you wonder what's going on.
SPEAKER_00And the closer we get to this election, man, it's a lot of weird things are going down, trying to, you know, trying to take place. So my God, my God. If you see something, say something, man. And obviously the cameras caught them. So, and one thing I really like about what in a sense, in a whimsical kind of way, is that when people think they're getting away with something, they're being exposed. We just but it's so much happening, so much happening that people are getting, um like not again, but you better not get tired. I I I guess that that's it, that's it. It's care, it's we're gonna put a pin in that because it's definitely something not right with that. So what Keith Sweat say, something, something just ain't right. You know, it's clean, but I smell a rat.
SPEAKER_01I hope we don't start seeing that here in the Chicagoland area. That would be a little bit freaky.
SPEAKER_00Well, we are a big city, and is it really going down in the big cities? What's really going down is you know, because you you think about uh what can happen, uh someone in in uh underground like that, what type of damage can be done if something nefarious is going on?
SPEAKER_01That's true.
SPEAKER_00And to do it at four o'clock in the morning, no, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I wonder if people are are calling the police when they see this or just basically videotaping it and putting on social media.
SPEAKER_00I don't know if they videotaped it or because it this is four in the morning, so there had to be some cameras, city cameras that were up. That's true. So yeah, it was city cameras. These were and they had them in four different areas that was facing the streets. Three different they did they had three different areas where they showed the people coming up, just coming up. I'm like, whoa, they weren't living down there, they had on the over the rubber, like you get baptized. You have some preachers baptized, you know. They had the baptismal uh outfit on and they had the light, like they looking, yeah, looking for cracks in the pipe. I don't know. So yeah, we better, we better, you know, don't don't lay down on what you see. Don't don't get so uh complacent, like oh, this is another thing happening. Don't get complacent like that.
SPEAKER_01That's true. That is so true.
Adult Kids Going No Contact
SPEAKER_01Well, our next topic is probably gonna be a hot one here. Okay, more adults are cutting off their parents, and the big question is are therapists to blame? So, to give context to this subject here, many estranged parents and some relationship experts believe that therapists are playing a major role in the rise of adults cutting off their family members through most mental health professionals. Uh, I'm sorry, though most mental health professionals reject uh direct blame. So critics include um family science experts cited by the Wall Street Journal argue that modern therapy culture hyperfixates on trauma and labels difficult family dynamics as inherently toxic. So a survey of roughly 7,000 estranged parents found that one-third believe a therapist influenced their adult child's decision to go no contact. So broad studies show family estranged uh estrangement is on the rise with over 25% of young adults in the US reporting estrangement um from at least one parent. And this is a hot topic here. Now, my personal opinion on this is I think it's a case-by-case basis because there are some parents, and some people are gonna get angry at me. There are some parents that are truly toxic and they're detrimental to their children again. That child has to make up that their mind if that fits their parent or not. But I think what you have to do is take a look at yourself and ask, what kind of relationship do I have with my child? You know, do I bring drama and nonsense and all this stuff every time I go around them? Or am I supportive? Am I lifting them up? Am I always going around them like, okay, they're making good money, they should take care of me. You know, it all depends on what's going on in that. And I think that the therapist, in my opinion, should never be blamed. All they're doing is help you realizing what you're feeling. Once you figure out what you're feeling, it's not the therapist's job to direct you on what to do, but give you the clear vision of what's in front of you so you can make your own decision. That's just my personal opinion. What do you think, Wanda?
SPEAKER_00Wow, you know, we have to be real careful, calling what you're saying by putting the blame on uh on therapists because mental health professionals themselves uh disagree strongly about this issue. And some argue that the headlines oversimplify why families become estranged. And let me tell you, in my many, many, many talents, more than 30 years, I have been a caregiver. I have been in the uh uh the the caregiving industry for more than 30 years. I've seen both sides of this uh uh situation, right? There are times like some of the elderly people, they they have been uh rather mean or some things have happened, but I've also seen the other side when now if a child somehow somehow was maybe abused by this parent, and now the tables have turned, right? The tables have turned. Now they are the caregivers to these parents, and they're not always nice. I have seen some things and had to I have to say something about because once you raise your hand uh and say that you are a caregiver, you are saying in any state, then if any type of abuse is going on, as a therapist, as a care, uh a person that works in a caregiving field, you have to report abuse. You have to talk about that. Like I said, it's on both sides of the coins. Uh, I don't know why a lot of people are angry, and that's just really sad that we're living in a time like this for uh elderly people to have lived their life and paid their debts to society and to either have to have someone take care of them and they're abusing them. So they have to have services, and a lot of times that service, and I'm not saying all the time is right, but they have to have somebody to talk to. So I've been on both sides of that fence.
SPEAKER_01Let me ask you this. What if you run across a situation where you know the child isn't being abusive, but because of some horrific things that they went through in their household, they cut off the parents, they don't have anything to do with them. And then what do you what do you feel about that?
SPEAKER_00I I think that's really unfortunate. It's the truth, because everybody is not strong enough. Uh I I think um everybody needs therapy in that situation. In a situation like that, everybody needs to sit down to really find out where they came from because some people shun a therapist, they they shun a therapist. So, and and and like I say, it's some stuff, some bridge you burn, you just can't cross them. Whether it is your parent, some situation just uh it's not healthy to go back into. But the the the the adult uh child should not take on that burden and be uh abusive to their parent and turn around and do the same. It's like that bully syndrome. They turn right back around and do to the parent what the parent maybe have done to them. And for those, some people move out of town and it's guilt. And they if they if they can find someone else, I guess, to come in to take care of their parents, because I've heard it a whole lot. Oh Wanda, I wish we could find another you. Because I would stay as long as I can in some situations, and then when I would leave, I I was up man, I I I was highly recommended wherever I go because I I I I love children, I love the elderly. But there are some people they feel guilty, especially if they live in another state. But even the ones that live here, because I'm telling you, I saw a situation and I had to tell the young lady, so you need to. I was brand new. I was the first day on the job. And the way this woman was talking to the mother, I can I can only imagine what was happening when I wasn't there. She was verbally abusive to her mother. I ought to, you say it again, I ought to do so-and-so, so I had to let my boss know I couldn't go back there. I wasn't trying to get the person in trouble or anything like that, but I had to protect that that elderly, vulnerable senior that was there. So it it it's a real touchy situation, man, that some people say now it's my turn to get you back. Because I've seen that.
SPEAKER_01Right. Because I guess I'm I'm going from the angle of not from people being abusive or anything, but just literally just don't have anything to do with them. And some people are gonna disagree with what I say, but there are certain things that if you do to your children, nine times out of ten, they'll never forgive you. Um great example, and you know, I can know we kind of skirt around it, but when we talk about sexual abuse, you know, or or physical abuse, you know, yes, you can forgive your parent, but that doesn't mean you're gonna go anywhere around them either, if they did that to you. And, you know, you hear some people say, well, you know, that's your parent, you know, that's your, you know, that's still your mother, that's still your father. I disagree with that statement, you know, because there's certain lines that should never be crossed by a parent. And if they cross certain lines to me, it's understandable why they don't want to be bothered with them. And again, some people look at it differently because, you know, it wasn't that long ago where in our culture things happen in the household, you don't talk about it, you keep it to yourself. Yeah, and we saw uh what that got us, okay. Um, a lot of people got up went to a lot of mental issues and a lot of a lot of mental pain because they felt trapped, they couldn't say anything. And you know, it used to be taboo in our community to talk to a therapist. You know, I'm glad we passed that now. So I always tell people when you see a parent and a child that don't have a relationship, be careful before you pass judgment because you may not know what's going on behind the scenes.
SPEAKER_00That just brought up when you brought this particular scenario up. I witnessed a mother-daughter situation. Uh both uh the children were adults, but the daughter was molested, I want to say, by the father, or maybe it was her husband. I don't know what that situation was. I never really got down to the bottom of it. But I remember they they had a diabolical relationship. And the the uh the mother would watch the grandchildren a lot because the the child was out. I think she may have even been on drugs, but she was just not healthy. And I remember being over there uh taking care of this lady, and the daughter just came in probably after a couple of days, left the grandchildren with the mother, came in a couple of days later and went straight into the kitchen into the pot. And before the lady knew it, what came out of her mouth, I should have spit in that food. This was the mother, and I'm going like, I eat out of here. You offer me food. Oh my God. And sitting under her breath, I should have spit in that food. I almost I just couldn't believe I heard that. I will never forget that. So this was a diabolical relationship that was never ever taken care of. And to say that about your own flesh and blood, I was just a worker. And and and for that to happen, and it just came, I'm like, oh my God. So yeah, that that's really a diabolical situation uh when uh parents and some of them, you know, you know, like I said, that that childhood that they never ever got a chance to get over or get past, never talked about. Because according to this situation, uh the mother, the mother never uh acknowledged it. And then hurt this young lady. And she is a beautiful young lady, messed up though, totally messed up out there in the street. She had three children, so the kids are messed up. You know, I think those kids are probably grown now, too. So cycle.
SPEAKER_01That's true. Well, like I said, um one of those things that we'll definitely pray about. And yeah, we have an interesting topic coming up.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah.
Why Harry And Meghan Return
SPEAKER_00Okay, we're gonna talk about the dude the may Harry and Megan. Let me see if I can get this up here real quick. I guess I got so deep off into deep into that last conversation. Um Harry and uh Megan are moving back, or they have moved back to the uh you the UK. Okay, it says Harry and Megan had have returned to Britain with their children. Prince Archie and Prince, it's a Lebit, Libit, and uh reports say that the children are expected to attend school in the UK. However, one of the things uh needs to be clear. Harry and Megan are not going back to be uh working members of the royal family, they are expected to continue living independently and pursuing their own charitable professional work. And one of the one of the biggest questions is why? Why are they coming back now? So part of the answer may simply be family. Harry has talked publicly about wanting to reconcile with his family, relationship with his father, King uh Charles, who appeared to have approved somewhat while the relationship with his brother, Prince William, has remained much more difficult. Their return could create more opportunities for the family to spend time together and possibly begin repairing uh those relationships. So, with that said, when I first heard it, you know, me and my conspiracy thinking, where are they going? Did they hear something about the US of A that they gotta get out of Dodge? I don't know. There still could be someone down the line, uh allegedly. Uh, I think that it's a it's a great thing to be able to go back home uh to do because I heard that she also wants to go back to acting. So I I think that it it would be I think it's a good thing for them to get back and perhaps to try and build something with their family. That's what I think. Your thoughts.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I agree. I I think that there's some hidden uh information that they're not sharing with the public. Oh, no doubt. Because prior to them moving back, Terry did make a trip by himself to the UK. Okay, so again, it's speculation. We don't know. Some people are speculating that maybe his father's health isn't as great as people think it is, and he wants to be closer to him. It could be another situation where there's rumors that Megan has a part on a uh show that's on Netflix.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01That could be a situation, or it could be a situation where he just wants to get closer to his family and just, you know, bring his children up in the country he was from. So it's a whole lot of different scenarios that did it. But I think it was something really overwhelming. And I think that even though they're not officially doing any work for the royal monarchy, I think that there's gotta be some type of maybe behind the scenes uh of what they're doing with protection, because that was the number one reason why they did not want to bring their family over there or security. So obviously they're not worried about security now, which kind of makes you wonder what they're not telling us.
SPEAKER_00No doubt, my brother, and I think ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. I think that's certainly good. I think is a a little bit of all of those things, but I definitely believe that the way that we are the way America is right now, the USA, there's so much uncertainty and unrest and things that we don't know that could be going on even with us as American citizens. So with them being in that high profile position, it would be really sad if something were to happen to them while they were in America, and they even though they are estranged, and again, it goes back, especially with those children who they grew up in America, and uh perhaps they want them to know their heritage uh in the UK. So, yeah, so it's it's it's a few things, but when I first heard the first thing I the first thing came out of my mouth, oh Lord, what do they know that we don't know? So that's the first thing came out of uh to my mind. But it's I think it and you know, of course, it has to make sense, and all of those things will would make sense with them with a job, with them wanting to get uh closer uh to the family and with the dad, uh his health, so who really knows with that? So I believe it's a combination of things.
SPEAKER_01But are you supposed to make the move back?
SPEAKER_00No, I'm not. Really? No, I'm not. Uh, because that's where they're from, you know, that's where they're and and and with all of those things we just named. If if if someone was in America and they were away and their family, uh someone close to their family was sick and they were wanting to you know come back uh and get with the family, blah, blah, blah. You just think about that. The average family would move back. Maybe the whole family wouldn't move back, but yeah, uh you you you would want to be close to your loved one. Look at what I did for my daughter. I uprooted my life in Nashville after 20-something years teaching in the Nashville school system, and I and she found out she had cancer. So sometimes you don't have time to think. And so I uprooted, and I was, you know, that's a whole story, of course. Uh, what I went through. So, yeah, so that that's not unusual for someone to think that way of their loved one if they uh were sick, and you just don't want to take that chance. But then with what's happening every day, we turn the news on, you know, a lot of people getting out of Dodge. There's a lot of people that they don't talk about, or you hear the rumors, videos here, they have moved out of America. A lot of people have moved out of America.
SPEAKER_01Well, I guess I'm I'm not as surprised with um with Harry because he's from the UK. Yeah, I'm probably more surprised on Megan's side because when they first got married, you know, it was no secret that Megan was miserable over there and she really did not like living over there. So I think that again, there's something going on behind the scenes, and I think the security was a big, big thing that was addressed for both of them to feel comfortable and for Megan to feel comfortable going back there to a place that she didn't feel welcome to when she first married into the family.
SPEAKER_00And you know what? And the what I love about this couple, or I love about him and being a mixed couple, they are together. And I think that's what helped her. And then when he just they decided to move to California to come to America and move to California, he was there with her. So I I certainly believe that hey, they they are thick as thieves, man. They are ride or dies. And that is what's important with that marriage, that they love each other, and I don't care what's around. So when you find people uh in in mixed relationships, and some people don't care about this, uh, this uh interracial uh relationship, man. If you all got each other's back, you I wouldn't give a hoot what the world thought of me. And then they have children now, so they have a lot to think about. So that's what I see on the outside looking in, that they appear to be uh together and always have been. I've never seen a hole in whatever that they he, I think they genuinely love each other.
SPEAKER_01Oh, absolutely. That's not even a question.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
Pros Heading Back To College Football
SPEAKER_01Well, yeah, for our final topic tonight. Now, this is an interesting one here, but legal challenges have allowed players to come back to college to play football. So, to kind of give you some backstory on this, a recent court ruling and a federal lawsuit filed by the class of 2022, Brock Wisney versus NCAA, allow some former college athletes to seek a fifth year of eligibility. So the NCAA adjusted its rules to a five-year eligibility model, but initially delayed the fifth-year start to 2027, leaving out the 2022 high school court. So a federal judge in Denver rules that in favor of the class action lawsuit, giving players from that class a pass back to their original college. So while a federal appeals court later paused that broad order, individual players continue winning separate state court injunctions and temporarily restraining orders to regain eligibility. This opened up a bizarre window where rookies cut by NFL teams or undrafted free agents try to return to college rosters for the upcoming season. So to kind of give some overall perspective, they've recently changed the rules in college football to where now players can actually get money off endorsements and stuff like that. And depending on how good you are and everything, you know, you can make up to a million dollars a year. Okay. So in college. So what's happening is that you have players that let's say you're auditioning, you're you're trying to make an NFL team. And either either A, you don't make the team, you don't get past preseason, or you make the team, but let's say you're on a practice squad where, you know, you're still making a decent buck, but you're not making the big dollars. So now you're going back to where you graduated from to play a fifth year football for payday. I personally think this is so wrong on so many different levels. I don't think this should be allowed. And I know I'm probably in the minority on this, but I think this is not right. What do you think, Wanda?
SPEAKER_00I want to read this and say uh it's a major issue happening right now in the college, as you just said, because the rules of how long athletes can play and whether they can return after pursuing uh professional football. Now, to me, man, that's you know, I believe in it's more than one way to count to 10. You get their nine and one, somebody get their eight and two, five and five, six and four, so on and so forth. Now, is this kind of in the same arena as transgenders playing women's football? Because you got these profess I say like this, because you got these professionals who have played professional football now, they can come back and play with college guys. Is that is that what I'm hearing? Or may I I don't want to give the wrong scenario?
SPEAKER_01Is that what I'm hearing? Well yeah, well, basically what's happening is is that they're trying to get into the NFL. And either A, they're they may be cut from a team, or they're on the practice squad. So they're not playing on the field, but they're on the practice squad. They're still part of the team. So they're not they're not.
SPEAKER_00They're not unequally yoked then.
SPEAKER_01Right. But see, the thing that I don't like is to me, you've moved on. Let the next players come in and show what they can do and let them make money. Because to me, it's it's not fair. It's not fair. Because that's just like saying, okay, you know what? Um, I didn't make my high school basketball team, so I'm gonna go back to eighth grade and play basketball. Let me play another year in eighth grade, even though I'm in high school now. It's not right.
SPEAKER_00Well, that's that's what I'm saying. And maybe, you know, my imagination can kind of go way out there, right? So what that that's that's kind of, and I don't want to offend anybody, you know, and I'm not on the political thing about uh transgender playing on a female's team, because you know some people say that that's unequally yoked, because regardless of the strength, the strength is different. And that's what I'm thinking. Is the strength different? So that's the point I'm making, not judging anybody for whatever their uh preference is. I'm just saying about the strength from somebody that's been out there. Oh, am I? I'm not really a sports person. Maybe I'm kind of overthinking it.
unknownI don't know.
SPEAKER_01No, it doesn't have anything to do with the strength because it's basically that one year out. So, in other words, you've Graduate, let's say 25, and it's 26, and you're on the NFL team, but you're not a starter. You know, you again, you maybe you're on the practice squad, or you're on a team and you're trying to make the team through the preseason and you're cut. So now you want to go back and play that fifth year. That's not right. Or let's say, for example, you played a couple of years in the NFL, okay, and now you're going back to college level because you say, okay, I I can get a big payday that way versus what I'm making now. That's not right. And then also, too, what's happening too is once you start playing in the NFL, even if you're on a practice spot or whatever, your your ability or your talent is different than that college player. You're no longer the same anymore.
SPEAKER_00That's and maybe because I'm not really into the sports, I'm trying to grab on to this because um if it's if it's a a year, the age I may not have a problem with that is what I'm saying. If you're talking about just a year, uh and they want to come back into that. I I'm not I hope I'm not, I don't know. I don't know if they because what I well, I'm well I was thinking you were talking about somebody that has aged out and now they can come back. Is that the same thing?
SPEAKER_01No, they've they've literally graduated and went into the NFL, and now they're coming back.
SPEAKER_00So just that they're coming back to that, yeah. Just said I'm I'm just trying to see, poor fellow, because what's the difference with them that with them going overseas to play?
SPEAKER_01Uh, because it's college versus professional. Overseas is still professional football.
SPEAKER_00It's still professional, okay.
SPEAKER_01It's still professional.
SPEAKER_00So to me, you can't revert back. So I I'm sorry guys, I can't help. I was trying to, I was trying to, you know, I'm trying, I'm just trying to fan in the people. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that that is kind of uh a misfortune. And I guess some of them probably thinking this should have gone down when I was in college because this is something new, correct? That's true. Maybe they feel what you just said, maybe they feel like you know, if they just a year or a year or two out of college, is there a limit in this new ruling?
SPEAKER_01Um, like I said, right now it's it's it's so new, um, because this is something that they've never had to deal with before. So I think they're learning it as they go.
SPEAKER_00Because I'm still saying that it's just something about going into a professional field and then reverting back to college, like you said, is it's something it is that's kind of like going backwards. So that is kind of, but when you think about the money aspect of it, maybe it's not, you know, you know, it's easy, you know. And if they can do it and get away with it, I'm not a sports person, so please don't beat me up for this. I'm just trying to help the ones that didn't make it because it's really unfair. Well, now if you got 10 years, don't try to go back to college. You have five years, don't try to go back to college. You know, you might get hurt.
SPEAKER_01That's
Pushback From Conferences And NFL
SPEAKER_01true. There is some pushback from the conference and NFL. So, conference bans. The Big Ten Conference and Southeastern Conferences SEC voted to ban any players who signed professional contracts or made pro rosters from playing in their leagues, threatening severe penalties for schools that try. Also, there's the NFL policy regarding this. So the National Football League NFL announced that any player who leaves the pros to return to college will be ineligible to play in the NFL 2026 and must wait until 2027 as a free agent. So it looks like what they're doing is they're trying to curb this as well, too. So even though the NFL is saying, okay, you gotta wait a year, we all know that um, you know, people who watch sports, a year doesn't sound like a lot, but that's a lifetime in professional sports. So I think this this may have um an effect to probably curb some of it. Will it curve all of it? I don't think so, but I think it may curb some of it.
SPEAKER_00And and and like I said, just going back, just um with the with the age difficult. Here it says the college athletes, it's very different today than it was 20 or even 10 years ago. Athletes are now can now earn a significant amount of money. You talked about that. So I I think that's probably really a big motivational fact why they want to do that, because they didn't have that opportunity. Because you know, you hear about that. Oh, when I was back, the salary wasn't the way it was back when I was going to college or whatever. So I think that's probably money going back. What do people do for money? So money is a big factor in this.
SPEAKER_01I mean, that's true. I mean, in the old rules of the college, you were not allowed to get paid anything.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_01No smiths, no nothing. So I do think that players at the at the college level should be paid because though these schools make billions off these kids. Absolutely. And I and I don't think it's it's a bad thing for them to get paid while they're doing it. I I don't, especially when they're making all this money off of them.
SPEAKER_00And like I said, the devil's advocate, it goes back to the ones the one or two years later, and that rule, that loop, that loophole is in that rule, and they want to go back and make some of that money, they all bent up. Because you think about the the the body aches and the and the the torture that a person goes through with their body. I think it's kind of barbaric anyway, to be banging your head against each other and breaking a leg. And because when I saw what was his name back in the day, his leg, the quarterback from I think it was Miami, and his leg was bent backwards right on Monday night football. Oh God, I just I can sick to even think about that. So if you think about what they're going through with their bodies, no, I don't know, get them. I don't know. I don't know. Don't don't send me no nasty emails because I'm just giving my opinion.
SPEAKER_01You
Final Thoughts And Ways To Support
SPEAKER_01know, this was a great show. This was an absolute great show. Yes, well, everyone, it's hard to believe, but uh we're actually at the end of our show. A lot of great topics, and uh, I know I'm probably gonna get a lot of feedback from this show, so I can't wait to read what you guys put on there.
SPEAKER_00Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01And always remember to let people know who we are, share, tell people how to find us and help us grow. We really enjoy what we do, and the more support that we get from you guys, the more things we can do, and the more we can grow as well.
SPEAKER_00And I'm Wander P. Make sure you follow me on all the uh the social media platforms and go to my website, www.restorecommunities.org, and see the things that I'm doing because I can't wait uh in the next few weeks that we're working on this uh mixer. So I'm looking forward to a lot of great things happening, you know. Bring some joy back to the world, man. You know, I just man, what happened to yesterday? Oh my god, I know it's gone, but let's look at our future, man, and try to do something positive for each other.
SPEAKER_01I'm into that. Well, everyone, I'm Lawrence Elrod.
SPEAKER_00And I'm Juan P.
SPEAKER_01Have a great day, everyone. Bye.
